Hi Folks - Hope I clicked at the right place to reply...
You guys got me LOL! The phrase "call a spade a spade" actually derives from the name of one of the suits in a deck of playing cards. There are four suits of thirteen cards each. The suits are Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and SPADES. The Spade is a black card and is in "somewhat" of a garden spade shape. The word "call" is regularly used in card-play.
Good Survivor season with an excellent remaining cast.